The meeting received updates from the Health and Wellbeing Board, the Joint Health Overview and Scrutiny Committee and heard a presentation on the NHS's plan for improving access to Primary Care in the Borough. The Committee discussed how it would scrutinse the [Pharmacy First] scheme at a later date and was briefed on recent legislative changes affecting the way Health Scrutiny Committees operate nationally.

Update from the Health & Wellbeing Board

The next meeting of the Health and Wellbeing Board was scheduled for 21 March 2024. The agenda includes the Annual Public Health report. There was discussion of future agenda items, including an update on the Alcohol and Drugs Strategy.

As part of the drugs and alcohol strategy, had there been an increase in funding and if so, what would the impact be on the service?

The Committee was told that the strategy was in its third year of funding and was designed to put a greater emphasis on alcohol. It aims to increase the number of people in treatment, improve treatment outcomes and provide more support for those affected by addiction.

Committee members expressed concern about residents' difficulties accessing alcohol and drug support services, particularly when trying to contact them. The Committee also discussed different detoxification pathways and current waiting times for support.

The Director of Health & Wellbeing undertook to feedback the Committee's comments to commissioners. The Committee was told that the strategy supports a detoxification pathway in Stoke-on-Trent.

Update from the JHOSC

The Committee received an update on the most recent work of the Joint Health Overview and Scrutiny Committee (JHOSC) which had met on 27 February 2024. The meeting had focused on urgent and emergency care and preparedness for winter pressures across Shropshire, Telford and Wrekin, including progress made with Virtual Wards since their introduction in August 2022.

The Committee heard that, owing to poor attendance by representatives of external partners at the previous meeting, an additional meeting of the JHOSC has been arranged for 8 April 2024.

Primary Care Recovery Access Plan

The Committee received an update on the NHS Primary Care Recovery Access Plan for the Borough from the Associate Director of Primary Care at the Integrated Care Board (ICB) for Shropshire, Telford and Wrekin.

The Committee heard that the focus for the next quarter would be on self-referral services and that the first of these will be the Pharmacy First scheme. The Associate Director said that all community pharmacists have signed up for the scheme. It is in its second month of operation, but figures will not be available until a later date.

Another element of the recovery plan is to digitise GP telephony services, with the aim of making 90% of services digitally accessible by the end of March 2024. This target has been pushed back to mid-April 2024 owing to practices experiencing technical difficulties and delays.

Other improvements included in the plan are to increase the primary care workforce to include paramedics and nurse practitioners.

The Committee discussed the plan's overall objective of improving the quality of services in Telford and Wrekin, increasing the availability of GP appointments and developing improvements for the future of primary care.

The Committee raised the following issues:

• Patient record sharing across system providers - The Committee heard that professionals across the system can see summaries, but not full patient records. The ICB told the Committee that work to improve this is underway nationally.
• Difficulties getting NHS dentist appointments - The Committee heard about residents having to pay for private dental treatment because of the difficulty of getting an NHS dentist. The Associate Director told the Committee that there is a national recovery plan for dentistry and that dental care is a national concern.
  
• The Committee requested a further update on the national plan.
• The Committee discussed the fact that, historically, most community pharmacists have been based in Shropshire and that becoming an independent prescriber is a lengthy process. They noted that the COVID-19 Pandemic had brought about changes in pharmacy, such as the types of treatment available and the ways that certain medications are prescribed.
• Use of Section 106 funding to develop primary care facilities - Officers were asked if planning applications include provision for Section 106 monies to be used to support existing GP practices and develop primary care facilities. The Committee was told that the matter would be referred to planning officers.
• Lack of awareness of NHS schemes - The Committee expressed concern about the lack of publicity given to NHS schemes, particularly in relation to primary care and pharmacy services. The ICB agreed to provide further information to the Committee at a later date.
• Difficulty booking GP appointments - Asked why residents were having trouble booking GP appointments, the Associate Director of Primary Care said that patients should be able to get appointments and that they would feedback the concerns.
• Geographical scope of the figures - The Committee were told that the figures in the published report relate to Shropshire and Telford and Wrekin, but that the figures in the report presented at the meeting related to Telford only.
• Booking local GP appointments via the NHS app - The Committee discussed the difficulty of using the NHS app to book GP appointments and asked if it would be possible to add the functionality to book appointments with a local GP.
• Best practice across GP practices - The Committee asked if the ICB was investigating best practice across GP practices, both nationally and locally, with a view to improving the system in Telford and Wrekin. The Associate Director said that the recovery plan was part of a national improvement model and seeks to address differences in approach between GP practices in Shropshire and Telford and Wrekin. The Committee heard that a Primary Care Network forum exists to share best practice and knowledge across the region.
• National funding to support practices - The Committee were told that there is a dedicated budget for the recovery plan, with practices receiving additional funding for the services they provide. The Committee heard that the impact of the funding is being closely monitored.

Work Programme Review

The Committee were told that the next meeting, on 25 April 2024, would be the last meeting of the municipal year. They were informed that the work programme would include an update on the Pharmacy First scheme.